Andalucia Golf Guide

Golf, in case you hadn’t noticed, is the new rock n roll. Forget golf bores around the clubhouse bar, golf is fun, fashionable and (whisper it) sexy. Top women players Michelle Wie and Nikki Garrett among others have seen to that. Meanwhile labels synonymous with golf such as Pringle are suddenly fashionable again, while household names such as Tommy Hillfiger and Hugo Boss are busy putting out golf clothing. Southern Spain has it all. Of course it helps that the Spanish themselves are more than a little handy when it comes to golf. Boy wonders Sergio Garcia, Jose Maria Olazabal, Miguel Angel Jimenez and of course Seve Ballesteros are worshiped on the fairways, sometimes a little to vociforacly, as any one who has followed the crowd behind Sergio at the Volvo Masters will testify.

When the Costa del Sol experienced a renaissance as a winter golf resort in the late 1980s, the phrase Costa del Golf was coined. Between 1985 and 1991, no fewer than 17 new golf courses appeared, bringing the total along a 50-mile stretch of coast up to 30. This concentration of quality golf courses, combined with the sunny and warm winter climate, has made it unrivalled as a winter golf destination for northern Europeans. A recent study estimated that a staggering 80% of golfing tourists had visited the Costa del Sol to play.

Popular with European golfers for many years the area has became better known farther a field due to the dramatic 1997 Ryder Cup held at Valdarama, which cemented Seve as a Golfing god amongst the Spanish. Valdarama remains the best-known and most respected course in Andalusia, and is the setting for the Volvo Masters, which marks the end of the season for the European tour in dramatic fashion. A little inland from Puerto Banús and Nueva Andalucia is the area known as “Golf Valley", with world class courses such as Aloha, Las Brisas and Los Naranjos designed by the likes of Robert Trent Jones. It’s also where you’re most likely to bump into Tarby et al, so be warned. Other courses worth mentioning in the area include Monte Mayor, which is one of the most spectacular courses in Europe, surrounded by ravines. Forget walking the course – club rules demand the use of a buggy!